The Shepherdess
by ItsLikeCRACK
Summary: While stuck in the Little Lamb Village, Wolf and Virginia share a moment and a part of themselves as well.


The Shepherdess

Disappointment and frustration burned Virginia's eyes and throat. She refused to let this latest roadblock defeat her. She would get to the mirror, she would go home.

She left the judge's dining area with a hardened glint of determination in her eye… just in time to see Wolf begin slammed up against a wall by two townsmen…and a third coming forward armed with a pitchfork. Panic sliced through her, hot and sharp, as they moved to take Wolf outside. Frantically she moved to reach him, shoving obnoxious giggling Peep girls out of her way. Seeing her opening in the crowd, she lunged.

"Excuse me what are you doing to my husband?" Virginia demanded. The giggling behind her stopped abruptly.

"He's your husband?" One of the men asked, dumbstruck. She moved to take advantage of the stunned villagers.

"Yes he's not feeling at all well tonight and I must get him home right away." She continued smiling and moved Wolf toward the door, careful to keep herself between him and the other angry villagers. "Goodnight!" Virginia barely breathed as they escaped from the inn into the cool night air. Completely absorbed with getting them to safety she failed to notice the expression plastered on Wolf's face.

Wolf couldn't believe what he had just heard. The succulent, creamy looking maid before him had just called him her husband. She had been worried about his safety and come to his rescue. Wolf had heard those words from her mouth and now he felt like he could fly…which was an odd sensation for a wolf. He felt his dopey grin grow wider as he realized she was still eyeing the shadows with caution, completely oblivious to the joy she had caused.

Virginia didn't like this village. First the giggling Peep girls (who seemed to be everywhere) and then more mirror problems…and then there was Wolf. Everyone in this town seemed to be able to sense he was different…well okay obviously he was different he was Wolf. But these villagers seemed to sense that he was something more than what he seemed, something more than human. She was still walking cautiously, aware of everything but Wolf when she felt his hand on her arm, slowing her to a stop. She turned to face him and the sweet grateful smile she saw there melted her heart. The calm only lasted a moment however because in the next minute he was bounding around her like an over sized and keyed up puppy.

"Oh Virginia! When you said I was your husband in there I went all hard and soft at the same time!" There was excitement dripping from every word he spoke. Virginia smiled at his antics and noticed that his grin was a little more goofy than normal as she began walking again.

"I only said that to get you out of there now come on!" she tried to allow some of the frustration she felt about the mirror to enter her voice, but she knew that she was fighting a losing battle. Wolf smiled again before running slightly ahead of her.

"Virginia, I feel so alive!" he cocked his head "I can see everything for miles!" he exclaimed as he hurried back to her. He grabbed her and twirled in the moonlight. Wolf quickly released her and bounded away again, hesitant to linger longer than what she would be comfortable with but still reluctant to leave her side. As he flitted around her he caught sight of the silvery orb that hung low in the sky. He felt the air leave his lungs in a short gasp and his blood began to simmer.

"Look at the moon!" he said, excitement and reverence in his tone. "Doesn't it just make you want to howl? Its soooooooooo beautiful." The pitch of his howl sent shivers down her spine, making her skin suddenly more sensitive than normal. She glanced upwards.

"Not really." She said with a half laugh trying to dispel her newfound discomfort. It was an effort to keep her mind on Wolf was saying to her. His voice was now no more than a whisper.

"My mama was obsessed with the moon. She used to drag us all out, just to watch it when we were cubs." Wolf closed his eyes as if savoring his memory, and then softly began to sing the tune that was now so familiar to Virginia. "The shepherdess makes quite a mess, but little lambs are lovely." He opened his eyes again and Virginia saw his gaze sharpen, focused intently on the moon. It was almost as if he were looking for comfort, for an answer to some unasked question. "The moon makes me hungry for everything." he growled, his voice deep and husky. Virginia felt the tingles down her spine again. His tone gave her a moment's pause. She approached him slowly, placed her hand on his arm. When for once he didn't respond to her touch, she chanced another glance at the moon. Her hand tightened on his forearm.

"Come on," she urged in a gentler tone, "time to go to bed." He turned slowly, following her voice and they began to walk slowly back towards the barn.

He began to jog, walking ahead of Virginia and then twisting back, turning in odd patterns as he went. He reminded Virginia of an excited puppy who wanted to play but was stuck on a leash that was several feet too short.

Wolf felt his blood race and knew it was because of the moon. It was his instinct to run tonight, to change, to feed. He couldn't contain his energy but he also couldn't leave her. Once a wolf mates, he mates for life. He would never wander too far from the side of his love, from the side of fair Virginia. The instinct to be his furry self was currently warring with the side of him that needed to be near her. The very scent of her skin drove him insane with lust, with animalistic passion. He refused to hurt her, to be anything less than her protector, but all he wanted to do right now was ravage her body, to claim her as his own. The full moon was doing nothing to aid his self control however, and he found he could only travel a few feet away from her succulent persona.

As they drew closer to the barn where they would spend the night, Wolf slowed his erratic pattern. Once they entered the barn Wolf knew he might not be able to control himself. Virginia's scent, already so strong and tempting was always much more potent in enclosed spaces. Combined with the smells of cute, fluffy, deceptively innocent snacks sheep and the pull of the moon, Wolf knew he would be lost. Virginia noticed the sudden lull in Wolf's pace as they neared the door to the barn. There was a small outcropping of wall near the door, creating a neat little corner and it was here that Wolf hesitated. Virginia didn't know why he paused, but his entire body had suddenly become tense, almost as if he were anticipating some kind of danger. She glanced at his face, his eyes were closed and he was breathing slowly and deeply, savoring some flavor on the wind. _"well so much for danger" _ Virginia thought sarcastically _"He's probably just loving being this close to so many lambs"_ She shook her head and began to move past him armed with a biting comment and, if necessary, ready to renounce her previous thought of momentary safety. When she looked at his face though, she stopped. Wolf's eyes were now open, and he was gazing at her as if he could devour her. Frozen by his lustful stare Virginia didn't fully register him slowly stepping toward her, stalking his prey until he had her backed against a wall. Something akin to panic tightened her stomach and though she wanted to put at least three feet of space between herself and the predator who was still moving forward but something held her in place.

"Wolf" she said attempting a warning tone, but it came out as a whisper, breathy and insincere. The atmosphere around them had changed abruptly and suddenly all Virginia was aware of was that Wolf was inches away from her, close enough to kiss. As if she had no willpower of her own, Virginia felt her eyes drift closed. A moment later she felt Wolf's hand gently cup her cheek.

"Just one kiss" he whispered, his thumb caressing her lips. Virginia found that for once she was unable to speak. Then his mouth was on hers and she was robbed even of the ability to think.

Virginia had not been expecting the fire that shot through her as his lips touched her own. With a small whimper she found herself giving herself over to the passion of his embrace. Wolf's body was crushing hers into the wall of the barn, one hand resting gently on her neck, the other splayed against the wall as if he didn't trust himself to be able to ever release her. Virginia's arms crept around his neck, pulling him closer though every part of their bodies from head to neck was already touching. Wolf bit Virginia's lips lightly and then turned his attention to her neck. He nuzzled and kissed his way down the column of her throat, taking pride in her soft moans until her head fell back to allow him greater access. It was the soft bite on the sensitive cord connecting her neck to her shoulder that shocked Virginia back to the reality of their situation.

"Wolf" she said again, but again it was too insubstantial. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Wolf we have to stop." He pulled back to stare at her and she felt his absence immediately. It was enough to make her wonder why she wouldn't let herself experience more kisses just like that one.

Wolf stared at Virginia, at her flushed cheeks and slightly whisker burned neck. He took no small amount of pride in the way her eyes were still slightly out of focus and the way she still made no move to push herself away from the wall. The wolf inside him howled in triumph as the man shrank in shame. He had taken advantage of his beloved, and he knew that when she was herself again she would hate him for it. The animal inside him erupted in anger, furious at again being denied his prize, his mate. The aroma of Virginia was still thick in the air made even more potent by their passion. Wolf could feel himself slipping, reason giving way to more animalistic impulses. He wrenched himself away from her with a growl and ran headlong away from her and into the barn.

Virginia was momentarily terrified by the feral look in Wolf's eyes, but terror was quickly replaced by concern as she followed him into their shelter. As soon as she entered the barn he rounded on her.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" he demanded of her, "You will never know love like mine! I am your mate for life!" Virginia scoffed, taking comfort in her sarcasm and her familiarity with rejecting him.

"You don't even know what you're saying. I know you're a litt-"

"Oh you KNOW, do you?" his sharp feral tone froze her where she stood. She was abruptly aware that she was again in the presence of a predator. "You think you know everything. Little miss perfect who sticks up her hand and can answer every question but knows _nothing_. You're pretending to live Virginia!" as he spoke he had begun once again to stalk toward her. "You're doing everything but actually living! You're driving me crazy!"

"Stop bullying me!" Virginia twirled and twisted away from wolf and put a pillar between them. "I don't like it! Now go to bed."She took a deep breath to calm herself, "Now."

"Or what?" Wolf growled, his eyes bright and intense as he stared her down. Virginia felt a very real fear course through her at the unfamiliar tone of his voice. "Will you scream? That's what most people do when they see a wolf, they scream and scream and _scream_." Wolf's voice had been gaining its intensity and once more as he stalked toward her Virginia was afraid. She whirled again but this time she whirled to face him with a pitchfork in her hands. He paused but there was nothing but derision in his expression.

"What are you going to do stick it in me? That's what everybody does when there's a wolf around. They stick it and stab it and smoke it out. They burned my parents good oh yes, the good people, the nice farmers. They built a great big fire and they burned them BOTH." Their conflict had once again brought them together as if they were magnetically drawn to each other. Simply inches apart, the only thing that separated them was the pitchfork that they were both clutching.

Wolf wasn't sure what to do. He had never told anyone what he had just revealed to Virginia, and yet he couldn't stop. He had given into the passion of the beast and now he was afraid he wouldn't be able to control it. The memory of their brief kiss burned through his mind as he fought the urge to step closer to inhale more of her essence and claim her as his mate. One look into her eyes told him that at the moment she was just as entranced as he. "_It would be so easy…"_


End file.
